Questions I Answered on Catholic Answers Live about Mary, Joseph, Jesus & Christmas

by Steve Ray on December 22, 2016

To listen to the show on-line click here. For other listening options like podcasts, click here.

These are the questions I answered tonight about Christmas, Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, Joseph & Mary, the gospel accounts and more.

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1. Tell us about the four Gospels and why they tell different stories.

2. How does each of the Gospels deal with the genealogy of Jesus?

3. Which Gospels tell Mary’s story and which one tells Joseph’s story?

4. How did Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem and how far was it from Nazareth?

5. Did Mary experience pain in childbirth and how was Jesus born?

6. Did St. Joseph assist Mary in childbirth? As a mother I am curious who assisted Mary?

7. Is there evidence for or against the date of December 25 for Christmas? Why do we celebrate his birth on December 25?

8. Since December is winter in Bethlehem the shepherds would not be out with sheep, correct? So the December 25 can’t be the real date of Jesus’ birth, correct?

9. The Archangel Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus. When he announced it to Zechariah who asked “How will that be?” and he was punished. Mary responded the same way and she was blessed. Why was Zechariah punished and not Mary?

Re the birth of Jesus, if you want to know what the Blessed Virgin told Sister Mary of Agreda, go to Sister Mary’s four-volume set of books in which she records what the Blessed Mother spoke to her heart about her life story. In the 1600s God decided it was time to reveal to the world all the details of the life on earth of His Mother, and Sister Mary was chosen the person to receive from Mary the full story and to record it for posterity. I no longer recall in which volume Mary describes her arrival in Bethlehem with St. Joseph, their failure to find lodging, and St. Joseph’s recollection of the cave outside of town that he saw on the way in. I believe it could be the third volume, but I am not sure. I will not taint your thinking with my own description of the manner of Jesus’s birth as I prefer you read the words of Mary and make your own conclusions. May God bless you abundantly!